Negotiating a Better Future: How Interpersonal Skills Facilitate Intergenerational Investment*

Resource type
Journal Article
Authors/contributors
Title
Negotiating a Better Future: How Interpersonal Skills Facilitate Intergenerational Investment*
Abstract
Abstract Using a randomized controlled trial, we study whether a negotiation skills training can improve girls’ educational outcomes in a low-resource environment. We find that a negotiation training given to eighth-grade Zambian girls significantly improved educational outcomes over the next three years, and these effects did not fade out. To better understand mechanisms, we estimate the effects of two alternative treatments. Negotiation had much stronger effects than an informational treatment, which had no effect. A treatment designed to have more traditional girls’ empowerment effects had directionally positive but insignificant educational effects. Relative to this treatment, negotiation increased enrollment in higher-quality schooling and had larger effects for high-ability girls. These findings are consistent with a model in which negotiation allows girls to resolve incomplete contracting problems with their parents, yielding increased educational investment for those who experience sufficiently high returns. We provide evidence for this channel through a lab-in-the-field game and follow-up survey with girls and their guardians.
Publication
The Quarterly Journal of Economics
Volume
135
Issue
2
Pages
1095-1151
Date
2020-05-01
Language
en
ISSN
0033-5533, 1531-4650
Short Title
Negotiating a Better Future
Accessed
19/04/2022, 21:21
Library Catalogue
DOI.org (Crossref)
Citation
Ashraf, N., Bau, N., Low, C., & McGinn, K. (2020). Negotiating a Better Future: How Interpersonal Skills Facilitate Intergenerational Investment*. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 135(2), 1095–1151. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjz039